Start as early as you can. Last minute honeymoon plans lead to miserable honeymoon experiences.

Find a specialist. Honeymoons are not the same as business travel. The nice folks who helped you line up hotel and flight reservations for your boss's business conference won't be much help, despite their best intentions. Find someone who will sit down with you in person for at least an hour to gather important information about you and discuss your options in meaningful detail.

Clarify what you want to do on your honeymoon (besides the obvious!) so it's easier to identify a suitable location. In between the extremes of catatonic beach reptiles and die-hard mountain climbers lies a multitude of choices -- shopping, sight-seeing, fine dining, aquatic sports, etc. The best honeymoon specialists begin by having husband and wife each fill out a questionnaire. News flash -- you and your spouse-to-be might have different ideas on what constitutes a "great" honeymoon.

Be realistic about what you are prepared to spend. That way, your travel agent doesn't waste time with packages that are unsuitable to your budget. While you're at it, ask your travel agent about setting up a honeymoon registry. That way, it's easy for friends and relatives to contribute to your honeymoon budget (and reduce your inventory of surplus kitchen appliances!).

Know your destination. This is especially true if you plan to travel -- or hold your marriage ceremony -- outside the United States. Every country has its own rules, its own government, its own bureaucratic idiosyncracies -- you get the idea. Your experienced honeymoon specialist should be all over this stuff like a magnet, knowing what offices to contact, what forms to fill out, what permissions to obtain, etc.

Make lists. (If you're not a "list person," jump into a phone booth and transform yourself immediately!) Bring those lists when you visit your honeymoon specialist so you can write new things down right then and there. With the myriad of details you'll have to manage, lists will not only reduce the risk of forgetting something important, they'll boost your morale as you triumphantly check off item after item.

Consider the pros and cons of travel packages. If you're both adventurous and experienced, they may limit your options. Otherwise, they can solve the problem of keeping yourself fed and beveraged, reducing the risk of confronting a five-dollar soda pop when you only have three dollars left.

Get smart advice about spending money. ATM's are convenient, but are they reliable at your location? Traveller's checks are convenient, as long as using them isn't a hassle. Money conversion storefronts are convenient, but might be a rip-off. While you're at it, find out the conversion rate for whatever foreign currency you will need.

Include one or two changes of clothing (especially underwear and socks!) in your carry-on luggage. Believe it or not, airlines have been known to misroute or lose luggage.

Invest in a document holder that will work with your carry-on luggage. The best honeymoon specialists provide them. Fumbling for paperwork when you're standing in line facing an impatient bureaucrat is a miserable experience.